And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) When you’re going through a rough time, the last thing you need is to be surrounded by Chicken Littles yelling, “The sky is falling!” You need to find people who are willing to stand on God’s Word with you. Think about Moses. When Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land, only two—Joshua and Caleb—stayed in faith and kept believing that the Israelites could have what God said they could have. The other ten thought the sky was falling. “The giants are too big. We’re too …

Don’t shout. In fact, don’t even speak—not so much as a whisper until you hear me say, “Shout!” Joshua 6:10 (MSG) Are you going through a difficult time? It can be so frustrating to stand in faith for something when what you’re praying for doesn’t seem to be on its way. You’re going to have days when you feel like giving up. But I want you to remember to do something really important during those times: keep speaking God’s Word. God promised the Israelites the city of Jericho, but they didn’t overcome its walls right away. God instructed them to march around the city every day for seven days in a row. On the seventh day, after marching around seven times, all the people were …

Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. Genesis 50:20–21 (MSG) When you go through a tough time, it’s really important to watch what you say. Proverbs 18:21 says your tongue has the power of life and death in it. In other words, what you say has the power to bring life or bring death to a situation. This is why it is so important to speak positively, even when everything seems to be going wrong. There’s a story in the Bible that illustrates this point well. Before John the Baptist was born, an angel appeared to his dad, Zacharias, to tell him he was …

[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy. Colossians 1:11 (AMPC) Do you ever talk down to yourself? It may seem like you’re being humble or transparent, but it’s actually very destructive. You see, everything that comes out of your mouth is steering the direction of your life. If you’re always saying, “I’m not good at that,” or “I can’t do it,” you’re limiting yourself. You’re helping to form negative beliefs about yourself, which will impact your mind, heart, and future. Instead, you need to say things like this, inspired by today’s verse: “Father, thank you for invigorating and strengthening me …

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14–15 (NKJV) We choose the lives we live either by action or by default. If your car stalls on the tracks as a train is coming toward you, you have a few choices. You could keep trying to start it, you could get out and run, or you could sit there deliberating over what to do. Often, we think that we can avoid making a decision by not making a choice at all. But actually, by being …